Halloween 2009

All the teenagers, especially the boys, loved these jack-o-lanterns last night. They were easy and fun to do. I'm glad Delaney and I did them at 4:30 on Halloween afternoon. Thank goodness for pumpkin carving tools!
I couldn't believe Delaney actually posed for a couple of pictures for me. She made faces, but I got a few good ones. She thought of the costume herself. The bodice is from the top of one of Alyssa's prom dresses. The wings purchased. The tutu was bought off etsy, but when it arrived it was too short and she did not feel comfortable wearing it. I added the longer, soft pink tulle. I can totally make a tutu now. So easy! Red volleyball shorts are worn underneath for full coverage!
We added the flower garland to complete the look and here she is ready for a night of trick-or-treatin' with her friends.

Okay, that was one too many pictures, she's done and off she goes!

Happy Halloween!

Awe....My little monsters. 1997. Katie is the Mummy, 7 years old, Delaney is Sandy, 5 years old and Alyssa is the Bride of Frankenstein, 11 years old. Back before Costume Castle was king, all homemade (you can tell).

Delaney is even hamming it up! So cute.

That's my girl!

Katie was in a little race bobbing for apples. Ready, set,

Go!

Yeah, that's right, she's the winner!

Corona Del Mar Home Tour

Yesterday I went on the most AMAZING home tour ever. I'm sorry I don't have any pictures. They would not allow any as these were homes of families. Marlene, Tina, Wendy and I went on a home tour, sponsored by the CDM High School and middle school PTA. Tickets were $60. You got a light breakfast, lunch at Sherman Gardens and a reception at Caneletto restaurant at the end. They sold 1600 tickets! The homes were incredible. Beautifully decorated with original works of art and tastefully done interiors. The designers were in each home and you could speak with them. My jaw dropped over and over again. If you are in the area next year, this is a must do. We drove together in our own car as many did, but some groups of women got a limo for the day and I must say, I think we will do this next year. Parking was congested to say the least. Although, I did pull off an amazing parallel parking job and surprised myself!

Hearst Castle

Hearst Castle sits 5 miles inland from the 101 highway. It is a twisty bus ride up from the visitor's center. George Hearst bought the land when Mexico gave California over to the US for .70cents an acre. He purchased over 250,000 acres. The Castle and all its contents were given to the US government in the 1950s. William Randolf Hearst camped here as a boy all his life and began building the property after his mother died in 1919. The Hearst family still owns 80,000 acres around the Castle and have a working cattle ranch.
The property is made up of 3 guest houses and the main house. Above is Casa Del Sol, view from the garden. The other two are Casa del Mar (the biggest at over 5000 sq. ft and Casa del Monte at 2500 sq. ft. ) The first time you were invited, you were assigned a room, any visit after that, you got to pick your own.

This is the front of Casa del Sol. Not bad for a guest house. Beautiful view of the ocean from here. Bob and Delores Hope stayed here on their honeymoon. There was no eating or drinking in the guest houses or sharing of bedrooms if you were not man and wife. Dolores did not feel comfortable until she reached the Assembly Room and found See's Candy and Magazines.

This is the smallest guest house with a view of the mountains, Casa del Monte. David Niven and Winston Churchill stayed here. Hearst would often have 12-24 guests at any one time. Sometimes you would have a whole guest house to yourself and sometimes you had to share. It was not your choice. Winston Churchill had the entire guest house to himself as he had four people in his party and they each got their own room. (There were also guest rooms in the big house).

The garden was blooming with pink, purple and white. It was so beautiful. The hilltop had a wonderful breeze and the 360 views were amazing.
Here is the front of the big house. There is no grand entrance. The property was only half finish when Hearst left at age 84 due to heart problems. He left so he could be closer to a hospital and doctors. If you were a guest here, you could do anything you wanted all day, but at 7pm you were required to gather in the Assembly room for cocktails and mingling, at 9pm was dinner and then a movie in the theatre around 11pm. If there was no movie, they would go back to the Assembly room, where the furniture would be moved to the sides and dance.

The Assembly Room dressed in it's summer slip covers. The covers are the orginal ones left by the family.

This is the neptune pool. Hearst change this pool three times. He kept it heated and was very disappointed that more people did not swim in it. In the 20's and 30's not many people knew how to swim. Hearst was an avid swimmer and would swim laps.

Loved these lions on the balustrade from the pool terrace to the garden and guest houses.

Beautiful tiles outside the entrance to Casa del Sol.

One of the bell towers of the Great House. Hearst never called this property a castle (he owned a real castle in Wales), to him, it was the "Ranch".
After cocktails, everyone would go into the Reflectory for dinner. He would sit in the middle with Marion Davies across from him. His most recent/interesting guest would be seated along side the both of them. As the days rolled by, the guests would be moved along down the table. When you got to the end, it was time to leave!
He set the table with "Blue Willow" dishes which was very common for that time. They were not expensive. Paper napkins and bottles of ketchup and mustard were on the table. Very casual table. Notice how thin the table is. You would be very close to whoever sat near you. Even though the table was set casually, you were expected to dress to the hilt. Fur coats, jewelry, gloves, hats, and for the men, black tie!


The Theatre is about the size of most new theatres today. These lovely ladies adorned the sides of the theatre in a row from top to bottom. Beautifully classic Hollywood.

Last, but not least, is the indoor pool. Many a midnight rendezvous happened here. Real 14 carat gold tiles from Murano Italy.

We took two tours. The first one was Tour One and was very interesting with a nice overview. The second, was the evening tour, with volunteers dressed in period costume and we saw so much on this tour. I loved it. We went right at sunset and it was a beautiful evening. The volunteers really did add to the ambience. I recommend this to everyone.

Cambria, California

This is the little town of Cambria, two miles south of Hearst's Castle and 300 miles north of the OC. Driving up here along the coast you have some beautiful scenery once you hit Ventura. Beaches, rocky outcroppings, rolling green hills with cattle and horse ranches and wineries galore. Absolutely beautiful. There is not much in the town of Cambria itself. We ate at two fabulous restaurants. The first was Madeline's. It is a twelve table, upscale, intimate restaurant. Excellent food and wine. The other restaurant was more casual, The Main Street Grill. We had excellent pulled pork sandwiches and cheeseburgers for lunch.
We stayed at the Fogcatcher motel on Moonstone Beach. Just as we arrived, the fog was rolling in. The temperature dropped, but the Handsome Husband was excited because we were experiencing some weather. (Living in So. Cal it is often more of the same (sunny and warm), I'm not complaining, I just saying).

Our room was cozy with a fireplace that heated the room quite well. There was a refrigerator and a teeny tiny microwave. Breakfast was served in the Breakfast room each morning. Really weak coffee, unfortunately, and not a Starbucks in sight.

Across the not busy at all street, was Moonstone Beach with this fabulous boardwalk that ran the length of it. Dotted along the way were little benches and it was the only place we could get telephone reception. Cambria is a dead zone!
The beach was full of driftwood, seaweed and sea palms. The sea is angry here, no way would I ever attempt to go into the water. It also is filled with rocky outcropping.

The Handsome Husband. I could just see the wheels turning. He is a man of action. He was wondering if he could get out on that rock somehow. Of course, I spoiled his fun, telling him it is too cold to get wet and he didn't bring another pair of levi's. Always the mom!

Some of the rocks had these holes carved out through them. It almost looks like honeycomb to me.

Even the birds were chillin' out.

We had beautiful sunsets every night and then the moon would shine on the ocean. Just Beautiful.

I'm off to Hearst's Castle! See you in a few days.